The Broward Sheriff's office and the county commission remain far apart in their budget negotiations, but the two sides are making some progress.
At Thursday night's budget meeting, Tony stood before commissioners. Behind him was a large group of BSO deputies and firefighters — in full uniform — crowding the chambers and spilling into an overflow section.
At issue is Tony's proposed budget. Earlier this summer, the commission balked at Tony's request for a $253 million increase. Commissioners later agreed to a $50 million increase and asked Tony to create an itemized list of priorities. BSO's total budget is more than $1 billion.
Tony did not produce the priorities list in time for Thursday night's meeting but told commissioners he would need an additional $70 million "to keep the lights on" at BSO, the county's biggest agency.
Tony claims that the commission did not give him adequate time to create a priorities list as he was directed to do on June 18.
The new request, however, means Tony's budget proposal increase is topping $120 million, which is less than his initial request but far more than commissioners are willing to spend.
Commissioner Steve Geller said the new budget figure caught him off guard. “Today is the first day that I have heard about the $120 million number,” he said.
The sheriff claims he needs more money because he's is struggling to retain staff. He noted that Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties offer higher pay than Broward.
Commission members indicated they still want Tony to sharpen his pencil and lower his budget request increase. About 54 cents of every tax dollar spent in Broward County goes to fund BSO.
The commission contends that expanding BSO's budget even more would strain other governmental functions.
“Everyone's got to compromise. No one's going to get a hundred percent,” said Commissioner Mark Bogan, “There's an old saying in settlements, ‘when everyone is not happy. It's a good settlement.’ I think that's the way this has to go.”
While Tony agreed cuts may need to be made, he is reluctant to agree to them for his department.
“You're talking about compromising not just finances, you're talking about compromising public safety, security and people's lives,” he said, “You're talking about compromising someone's potential to stay alive in this county.”
The county administrator will now negotiate with BSO staff to come to a new agreement before the next budget meeting later this month.
If the two sides can’t agree on a resolution, Tony can appeal to Gov. Ron DeSantis — who appointed him to the job in 2019 following the mass shooting at Majority Stoneman Douglas High School. The governor can override the county and approve his budget. But the sheriff says he wants to avoid that option.
“My preference is to always keep Broward County and Broward County business here and not go to Tallahassee,” said Tony “So let’s work the best we can.”
Commissioner meet again Sept 17 to vote to adopt a final budget.
